The Secret Arts to Seduction
by The Emily
Summary: “Nifty, isn’t it Ino?” Sakura grinned, oblivious of her own love confession. Shoujo-ai, InoSaku.
1. Lesson One: Temptation

_A/N: _Yes, Dream Girls is on hiatus. It's a shame. It was going to be so _huge_, so _agnsty_. I knew where the story was going to go, but I just couldn't write it. Shame... should I continue working on it? Well, here's a little romance I just recently thought up. It's going to be really lighthearted and fun throughout. My main aim is to get you to smile, so I hope I can do that! Original document has 1,932 words. This was originally planned as a two-shot, but let me see if you want it continue past that. I mean, if you guys want me to continue it further, I will. I have plans past the originally planned second chapter. This is also where I get to tell you that I write for you guys, not the other way around.

_Disclaimer_: The usual, the usual. Masashi Kishimoto-san gets the props for making the original and Viz Media gets the credits and I'll also blame them for the dub.

* * *

An unnatural cherry scent floated through the spacious flower shop as the doorbell rung, welcoming the new guest. Two green eyes narrowed and their owner quickly pinched the tip of her nose to close off the incoming smell.

"That stuff _really_ stinks, Ino." Her voice a bit muffled from her pinched nose. "You aren't seriously putting on perfume in a flower shop, are you? Didn't your parents teach you any better?"

Her companion that was across from her behind the small table simply shrugged. "I don't see the harm." She tossed her friend the small bottle. "Read, Sakura. It's no ordinary cherry, it's a cherry _blossom._"

"I had no clue I smelt so bad," the teen joked, rolling her eyes. "Even I could bottle up my bath water and mark it off as '_New Delicious Watermelon'_."

"Try it, make millions." The blond threw her hands in the air. "Live the life, Stinky."

Her companion smirked and crossed her arms, green eyes twinkling brilliantly.

"I'm going to guess that your recent attempt at seduction has ended in failure." Sakura leaned forwards, placing her elbows on the counter.

The blond scoffed. "As if." She glanced over at her friend before quickly adding, "He's the type that looks better at a distance."

Sakura shook her head. "Like that's stopped you before… What was it this time, smelly breath?" two blue eyes glaring at her gave away the answer, so the teen continued to interrogate her best friend.

"Ah," the pink-haired teen exclaimed, with a mighty thrust in the air from her fist. "He was another bad kisser!"

"No! I mean, yes, but keep your voice down, damn it!"

However, despite the pleadings of the taller blond, the green-eyed teen confidently smirked and refused to relent.

"What type was he; I wonder…the flat, stiff-as-board-type one? Maybe he was the stick-his-tongue-down-your-throat type? No? Don't tell me he kissed like a wet dog, gross." She made a face while still maintaining a playful half smile.

"Shut it! Your mouth is a huge as your forehead!" Ino hissed, visibly annoyed.

"Did I hit the mark? Was he a wet dog?" she began to teasingly laugh.

"No! Damn you, Sakura Haruno!" the blue-eyed beauty curled her fingers into a fist and roughly slammed them on the hardwood counter.

Green eyes still continued to shine. "Scary. You're pretty defensive all of the sudden. You have the worst luck sometimes, Ino. I almost feel bad for you. Every single guy you've been interested in ended up being a bad kisser."

The blond pouted. "…Almost?"

"It's not like I fare any better, really," she shrugged her thin shoulders. "Then again, maybe I do, since I don't even bother my time looking for guys."

Ino smiled. "I am going to share with you something my mother always said, okay?" with a nod from the other, she drew in a deep breath. "As I get older, my stock value decreases, so just let me enjoy playing around before I hit a recession."

"Ah," the pale teen commented, vaguely concerned about marital status of her friend's parents.

* * *

Dull green blurred within her vision and her pink hair swayed with motion. A slight breeze brushed past her face and the cold air nipped at her nose. She rocked from side to side as she controlled her motion with the tips of her feet. She held onto a worn rope and rested her head on her outstretched arm, still swinging this way and that on top of the old wooden swing she sat on.

With much bitterness, she took in the scene below her; Ino, her noisy blond friend, and a male companion whom she had never seen before. It wouldn't take much to figure out what the tall beauty was up to. It would take even less, in fact, if anyone was cursed with the knowledge Sakura Haruno possessed about her childhood friend. It was with this knowledge that she sat on a swing, which was as old as the village itself, built on top of a hill overlooking her friend's latest attempt at seduction. She observed as her friend quickly snaked her arms around the male.

_She's pretty straightforward, _the green eyed teen thought. She smirked as her friend hurriedly brought her lips forward to meet the man's. _She's getting impatient. It's rushed; I can't believe he isn't running away from her._

She lifted her head off her arm as the two dots on the ground below her separated. She noticed an audible _smack_ and watched as a small blond speck stomp off to one direction. The slightly bigger lump seemed to have fallen down with small, quick convulsions. She stood up from her swing, a sense of heroism flashing through her.

_Has Ino really smacked him so hard that he's having a seizure?_

She narrowed her green eyes, at an attempt to improve her vision, and took in the sight before her. The man was not having a seizure, but rather twitched on the ground from uncontrollable laughter. She shook her head and made her way down to the bottom. She slid down once the ground was a good distance away from her, and sighed. The man was still laughing.

"Excuse me, but are you alright?" she asked, her manners not escaping her.

He slowly stopped his fit of hysteria to sit up and crane his neck behind him. He gave a grin that was obviously being suppressed and opened his mouth to say, "Yeah? Yeah, I'm fine." He paused to snort in his hand. "Did you see it all?" he nearly started to laugh again.

"If you're saying there's more, than almost." The green-eyed teen raised an eyebrow.

"Well, that blond that just walked off," he briefly paused to stick out his hand, to which Sakura reluctantly grabbed to help him up. "She kissed me."

"_Do_ go on." She rolled her eyes. Her companion, however, didn't catch her obvious sarcasm and nodded with a smile that often turned into a large grin. "If I hadn't seen you laugh so hard earlier, I'd think that you were the luckiest man alive. What, with that smile and whatnot."

"Nah," He denied. "You'd laugh too if you just had the worst kiss imaginable. It was pretty bad… excuse me." He turned his back towards her and began to shake from tremendous laughter.

Sakura reluctantly felt a rush of loyalty run its course through her, and she lifted her arm up and balled her fingers into a fist. She punched the man in the back of the head and watched as the force knocked his face to the ground. She stepped on his back while walking away for good measure.

"You don't talk about my friend like that, asshole."

* * *

Though confusion of the day's earlier events flooded the mind of Sakura Haruno, she still cared for her friend's feelings. And it was the very reason for her empathy that she was in front of the closing doors of the Yamanaka flower shop with a bouquet of flowers, a trinket of their friendship. She looked over her gift and grinned ear to ear. She had to admit, it was an ugly collection of flowers, but it certainly meant a lot.

_It looks like puke_, she mused,_ but she'll get the meaning, I hope. She's the one that knows all this flower language stuff, so I hope she'll realize it's not something I want her to hang in the main room of her house._

It had been a difficult decision whether or not she should arrange flowers for their beauty or their meaning. She had spent all her time, from after the observation on the hill to now, asking several questions to tiring employees at the local flower arrangement store. She was sure they were tired after she asked the same question fifteen times, but she had to get this perfect and she felt as if they knew that.

With a confident grin, she placed the large bouquet behind her back and opened the door with her unused hand. The usual ring sounded as she pulled on the door and she saw a blond head look up from the counter in the dimming light.

"Evening, Ino Yamanaka," she nonchalantly greeted.

"Hey." The blond raised a suspicious eyebrow as she closed the magazine she was currently reading. The green-eyed teen managed to catch a glimpse of the title: _The Secret Arts to Seduction_. This only further proved to add to her confusion.

She shook her head. "I saw what happened earlier with that jerk." Her friend blushed and began to nervously play with her hair. Sakura just smiled wider and continued. "Don't worry, I took care of him. Anyway, I know you must feel pretty upset after that, so…"

The blond narrowed her eyes and rolled her head with her friend's final prolonged word. "So…?"

"So I bought you these!" she pulled out her bouquet and handed the large arrangement to her friend.

Ino instinctively held out her hands to catch the flowers, but suddenly froze.

_Surprised! I surprised her, alright!_ The teen praised herself in her head. _I bet she's proud of me for getting her something all thoughtful. The tulips I have in the bouquet tell her about her one sided love affair, but the lotus says that her true love is not in the guys she's looking at. The carnation means that she's disappointed about her failure at seduction, but the red and white camellias should tell her that she should wait for the person that loves her. And that white flower, it's too bad I forgot the name, says she should have courage, I think._

"…Wow…" Ino's blue eyes sparkled through the forest of flowers. For a long time neither of them spoke. Sakura too caught up in a frantic effort to remember the nameless flower, and Ino, trying to process the sudden gift. Something was definitely not right about the flowers.

"Um, in Hanakotoba, the, um, red camellia means that someone is in love," Ino stated after some time. Her pink haired friend snapped her head to attention. "And the white one means whoever is in love is waiting, but with the carnation and tulip, it means that the person is disappointed because their love is one-sided since, because of the lotus, their feelings won't be reached. And this white flower here," she touched the petals of the small flower. "It's called a gardenia and it stands for a secret love."

"Nifty, isn't it Ino?" Sakura grinned, oblivious of her own love confession.


	2. Lesson Two: Seduction

_Thanks for the reviews: x-charcoal-moon-x, _GreenHawk, Death Sword, masu1212, Milo, OrangeSushi, Major Mike Powell III (sir!), CabbageWatsonBubblegumPoesy (ack! long name), Joe Habana, FunnyLoveGirl, Cozmos, -XxselfishXxpleasurexX-, KittyCatOManiac, Crimson Siyrean.

_A/N:_ First and foremost: there are not enough apologies in the world to express my sorrows and to ease all your angers at my deathly slow update. Also, this _is_ the last chapter. There will be no more. This is only a two-shot like originally planed. This is also my last Naruto submission. Why? So I can work on my other stories (and I need a break from InoSaku after five stories). However, I'm unsure on which one to work more fervently. That choice, I have decided, will be up to you guys. Information about them are at my blog and I'll have a poll up so you folks can vote or you can PM me or leave it in the review. It's mainly between the Guilty Gear story (Phoenix Fire, Passion Flame) or the Kannazuki no Miko story (Perpetual Moonlight), but it's still open to the rest of them. Anyway, the original document has 2, 367 words. Happy Holidays guys!

_disclaimer: If I owned Naruto, it probably wouldn't have gotten a G rating, but more like NC17 for HLS. (which, by the way, doesn't happen in this story so when that part comes up, don't get too excited)_

* * *

Ino Yamanaka clutched the bouquet of flowers to her chest as if she feared it would escape her grasp and run away. Her blue eyes were large and twinkled brilliantly. Her heart thud loudly and intensely. She could not feel the ground beneath her feet for she felt as if she was flying.

_This is so sweet of her_, the blond thought. _No one ever gave me something as thoughtful as this. What girl could refuse a confession as sweet as this? _

She turned her head slightly to face her friend and smiled ear to ear. The green eyed teen started to shift from one foot to the other under her odd stare but returned the smile nonetheless.

_That's cute! She's embarrassed,_ Ino happily mused.

"Well, see you later, Ino." Sakura waved her friend off and headed towards the door. "Glad you liked the flowers. Sorry for not buying them here, though. I thought it'd be odd to buy you flowers from your own store."

The blue eyed teen slowly exhaled and propped her chin on one of her arms that was resting above the counter. She happily nodded as she watched her friend leave.

"Yeah… later," Ino sighed out.

It was yet another uneventful day in the Yamanaka flower shop when the ring of a small doorbell was heard within the building. The thin figure that stood between the wooden opening reluctantly stepped in one foot at a time, carefully sniffing the air for an out of place smell.

"What? No perfume today? I was sure that you'd actually try out whole _'Delicious Watermelon'_ thing we talked about before," Sakura teased, a smirk being the only counter to her deadly serious face. She readily expected a witty remark back from Ino. Instead, her blond companion merely giggled and gazed at her with her sparkling blue eyes. "Okay… well, I'm glad you didn't try it out. It was _my_ idea anyway." Ino giggled again. The blond twirled a strand of her platinum hair around her finger and grinned at the green-eyed teen.

"Oh, it's nothing. I just remembered how you said you didn't like the perfume earlier so I figured I'd try my natural scent for a change." Ino's smile dropped. "Do I stink?" Sakura leaned her upper body in as far as she could, the counter providing an effective blockage between the two, and hovered her nose inches above the blonde's neck. She dramatically inhaled, the sound ringing in the blue-eyed girl's ears, causing Ino to give out a small yelp of surprise. The blond quickly brought up her hand to swat her friend's face away and covered up her neck once the offending head and its owner were separated from her.

"Sorry if I scared you or something, Ino, but gosh," Sakura began, noting her friend was heaving and blushing deeply, "you didn't have to try to slap me so hard, you know? It's not like you smelled bad. You actually smelled kind of nice. What is it, some kind of strawberry?"

Ino, still clutching her neck, suddenly threw out her other arm and pointed to the exit door. With deep heavy breathes, she opened her mouth and said, "Out! Out you jerk! How dare you do something like that to a lady!" when it seemed that Sakura didn't get her message, she balled both her hands into fists and began to pound on her best friend. "I'm seriously offended by you! You get out and have a long thought about what you just… did!"

"I'm in pain, Ino! Quit it!" the pink haired female edged herself away from the counter while shielding herself with her arms. Unfortunately, her blond companion followed. "What did I do?"

"Get out! Out of my store! Do you hear me, Sakura Haruno? Get out, you heartless jerk!"

Not willing to take the abuse much longer, the mistreated teen ran out of the flower shop with her friend shouting insults from the doorway. _My gosh_, Sakura thought as she weaved through the crowds in the market street, _what's going through her mind?_

Ino shuffled back inside and closed the shop's door with a squeal. "Step one under way!" she punched the air. "Ino Yamanaka, you are a genius!" she couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

"Hm, you want hang out," Sakura Haruno twirled the cord of her phone uninterestingly as she spoke to her friend, "right now?

"Yes sir." Even the green eyed teen could hear Ino's happiness despite the lack of her physical presence. "I don't have anything to do tonight so I thought I could spend my time with my best friend."

"I don't know, Ino." The teen thought back to the abuse she had endured a few hours ago. She still had no clue why she was beaten for one of her daily visits. "Will you beat me up again?" she received silence in response. "…hello?" she let out a long breath. _Damn it, Ino Yamanaka. If you're going to call me asking for some company, don't forget _you're_ the one who called _me.

"I'm sorry…" the blonde's voice sounded on the verge of tears, taking Sakura by surprise.

"What? I don't believe it…" the pink haired teen was utterly dumbfounded. She had not a clue to where her friend's apology was coming from, not to mention why.

She heard a sniffle on the other end. "…you don't have to believe me," a few sobs, "I didn't mean to get you angry at me."

"I-Ino, quit it… I seriously have no clue why you're apologizing." Sakura gave a nervous chuckle.

"I probably should've known that you'd be too mad at me to hang out. I'm sorry, Sakura. I'll hang up now."

"H-hey!" the pink haired teen jumped out of the bed she was laying on. "No need to jump to conclusions. I'll, uh, come over to your house in ten minutes, alright? No need for tears now! Turn that frown upside down. Don't worry, be happy. Uh…" two green eyes looked around the bedroom, hoping to find another clever way to cheer her friend up amidst the clutter.

"Sounds great; see you then!" Ino's voice instantly livened up.

Sakura's head stopped moving. "What? Ino you–!" her ears heard the distinct dial tone. "Ino? _Ino!"_

The green eyed teen gave a frustrated yell and slammed down her phone. She walked over to her closet and angrily got dressed, deeply regretting buying her friend the bouquet of flowers.

* * *

Sakura's finger began to turn numb. She held it mere inches away from the doorbell of her friend's house. Though she had gotten dressed, albeit reluctantly, and trudged herself to Ino's neighborhood, standing in front of the blonde's house suddenly made the teen a bit hesitant. _Maybe I'm nervous because she might beat me in one of her mood swings again, _she made herself laugh. _Oh what the hell? I'm sure the hospital can bring me back to life._ She lowered her finger to the bell and waited expectantly.

Sakura heard the thundering of footsteps before the door was yanked opened. She saw her friend's blue eyes sparkle brilliantly with joy. The blond, excited, leaped toward the teen with her arms outstretched for a hug. The sudden move caught the green-eyed teen off guard and caused her to fall on her back with a small yell.

"Oh Sakura, I'm so glad you could make it." Ino rubbed her cheek against her friend's neck. "It's been forever since we last hung out." The pink haired teen sighed and wrapped her arms around the blond to give her friend a small and gentle hug before roughly pushing her off.

"Let's go in now, Ino," Sakura grunted. Her back throbbed and her neck burned, feeling as if it was rubbed raw. Her friend agreed and looped her long arm with that of the shorter pink haired girl, guiding her through the door and into the Yamanaka family house.

Sakura entered the kitchen as the house was built adjoining the flower shop in the front. She waved to Ino's mother and mouthed a subtle "help me" as the blond dragged her upstairs. The mother looked at her quizzically.

The blue eyed girl quietly shut the door after pulling an unwilling Sakura into her room. A soft click confirming the lock had been put in place echoed within the older teen's ears. Ino slowly turned around and gave her friend a large smile as she walked toward the bed where the anxious pinkette sat.

"Sakura," the blond spoke up, startling the other. "I'm really, really happy you came over." She spoke low and placed her hand on top her friend's, inching closer.

"Well, I didn't want to upset you." Sakura scooted way from the blonde's forward movement.

"That's real considerate of you," she spoke in the green-eyed teen's ear. Ino giggled lightly and brought up her other arm to drape it across the other's shoulder. Before Sakura could utter a protest, the blond pounced on her, quickly pushing her down on the bed. The two blue eyes stared at a pair of green ones, each expressing very different thoughts.

_What is going on here?_ Haruno Sakura wondered as her arms were pinned down. She wiggled a bit, trying to loosen herself, but her friend's grip was too strong. Her green eyes watched helplessly as a blond head sunk lower and lower until it reached her waist.

_Well, hot damn. _Sakura could have died from the embarrassment.

"Ino…" The pink haired teen's voice shook, a bit frightened by her friend's behavior. "You aren't really going to what I think you're going to do, are you?"

Ino looked at her strangely. "Don't follow," she simply stated, pulling down the other's pants.

"_Are you really going to rape me!?_" She yelled hysterically, hoping that someone, anyone, could hear and rescue her from the blue-eyed demon. Now that she thought about it, where in the world was Ino's mother?

The blond gasped and looked at her friend with a face stricken with pain. She stopped midway of pulling down her friend's underwear. "Sakura, I'm hurt," she placed a hand over her heart for added emphasis, "what you call rape is what I call '_beautiful love making'_." She continued her assault on the pinkette.

_Isn't that what all rapists think?!_ Sakura laughed nervously.

The victim, noticing that her arms were now free, grabbed hold of the blonde's hands and sat up. Blue eyes looked at Sakura in confusion, as both were sitting upright on the bed.

"What's wrong? Am I going to fast?" Ino pouted, receiving only a glare from her friend as response. "Or…" she lied down on her back, pulling Sakura on top of her, "would you rather go first?"

The older teen paused, confused. Comprehension dawned on her round face and she quickly let go and threw herself backward. She pulled up her pants, and other items, in one swift motion and raced for the door. Her hands found the doorknob and she jerked it around, the door suddenly becoming too complex for the teen to use. She let go, feeling hopeless, and turned around to see a creeping Ino draw nearer. She found herself on the ground, her arms pinned to her sides once more and she shut her eyes, unable to watch the impending doom.

Ino gave Sakura a light peck on the cheek, and the latter's eyes fluttered open at the surprise gesture. She looked up to see the blond smile down at her, only adding on to her confusion.

"I really like you, you know," her voice was soft and she spoke very gently; the complete opposite from the behavior she showed mere seconds ago, "thanks again…for everything." She put her head down to rest it on her friend's heaving chest.

"Ino I…don't understand."

"Neither do I. All I know is that this… It just feels right, alright?"

_That doesn't answer my question_, the green-eyed teen wailed in her mind.

"I've been thinking about it since yesterday, Sakura," Ino began to draw random scribbles on her friend's chest, "and you've been with me since we were little—always. And I…I don't know how long you've felt about me like that, but I feel the same way towards you now."

"I see," Sakura sighed, relieved to finally have her friend back. "Wait, what feelings?" The shorter teen's vision was blurred with a head of platinum hair. "Ino? Ino, answer m—!" Her mouth was soon engulfed by the girl who sat on top her.

Suddenly finding strength, the green-eyed teen grabbed her friend by the shoulders and pushed her an arm's distance away, gasping for breath.

"Ino, I really don't understand," she slurred out, a bit of drool running down the side of her mouth. She furrowed her brows in deep concentration. "You're…" her green eyes widened. "You're a horrible kisser!"

The blond dropped her head, her friend's words stabbing her in the heart. She stood, her friend following suit, and placed her hand on the doorknob, turning it and pointing with her other hand.

"You're free to go now, Sakura. Sorry to have kept you here," she mumbled, disheartened.

The pinkette frowned as guilt began its course in her veins. She sighed and opened her arms to swallow the blond in a large hug.

"We can work things out. It's not as if I hate you," Sakura said. She didn't want her to see her friend sad, after all, and she needed some convincing as well. She returned the kiss the blond gave her earlier and smiled, earning a small giggle from her friend in return.

Ino wrapped her arms around the waist of the other and nipped at her ear. "Step two completed successfully. Ino Yamanaka, you are a genius!"

Sakura looked at her once more in confusion.


End file.
